Wire shoetree



March 24, 1970 H. H. MERRIMAN 3,501,792

WIRE SHOETREE Filed July 29, 1968 JG. 6 z m z 4 INVENTOR HENRY H. MERRIMAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,501,792 WIRE SHOETREE Henry H. Merrimau, 751 W. Washington St., Jackson, Mich. 49201 Filed July 29, 1968, Ser. No. 748,335 Int. Cl. A4311 5/00 US. Cl. 12-115.6 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoetree of a simple construction, yet permitting use with a wide variety of shoe sizes, consisting of an elongated member, preferably of wire, having a shoe toe engaging end member or portion, and including a plurality of sinuous or zigzag bends and elements for selective engagement with the heel portion of the shoe to maintain a shoe in a stretched condition. The elements of the zigzag portion are so spaced as to accommodate half sizes of shoes, and preferably, a hook is defined at the end of the elongated member adjacent the zigzaz section permitting the shoetree to be suspended.

Background of the invention The invention pertains to the art of shoetrees, and particularly pertains to a simplified form of shoetree consisting of an elongated member having a bend therein for cooperating with the heel portion of the shoe. I

Prior art shoetrees widely vary in construction, use, form and mode of operation. The more expensive type of shoetrees are of a configuration substantially corresponding to that of the complete shoe to maintain the shoe shape when not in use. Other types of shoetrees rely primarily upon compressive forces to stretch the shoetree, and maintain the shoe form by such forces. While a number of shoetree constructions are available which adequately perform the desired purposes, the cost of shoetrees capable of being adjusted to accommodate various size shoes is such that shoetrees are not commonly employed except by those meticulous persons who are willing to go to the trouble of purchasing such adjustable shoetrees, adjusting the trees to fit particular shoes, and readjusting the tree each time the tree is used with a different pair of shoes. Additionally, the mechanical motions involved in inserting and removing the tree into the shoe are often objectionable with prior art devices.

With the type of shoetree which is bifurcated, and utilizes a hinging action, and over-center relationship to maintain the shoe under tension, the operation of the shoetree requires some exertion on the part of the user, and the adjustment of this type of tree is somewhat involved. Also, most available shoe trees do not permit the shoes to be hung by the trees once the trees are installed in the shoes.

In short, only a small percentage of shoes are currently protected by the use of shoetrees due to the expense, limitations, and inconvenience of using conventional shoetrees, and as a result maximum life is not being obtained from most shoes.

Summary of the invention It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, inexpensive shoetree which is easily adapted to various size shoes requiring no mechanical manipulations by the user, yet is capable of imposing an effective stretching force upon shoes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a shoetree of simplified, lightweight construction utilizing a hook disposed adjacent the heel end of a shoe associated therewith whereby shoes may be maintained in a suspended condition off the floor by the shoetrees.

The shoetree in accord with the invention preferably consists of an elongated wire member of sufficient thickness to transmit an effective stretching force to shoes without undue deflection. The elongated member includes a shoe toe engaging member at one end, and a shoe heel portion engaging member adjacent the other end. The heel engaging member consists of a bend defined in the member transversely disposed to the general length of the memher which engages the heel of the shoe to permit an effective compressive force to be maintained in the elongated member. In the most versatile embodiment of the invention a plurality of sinuous or zigzag elements are defined in the member to form a zigzag section wherein a plurality of U-shaped recesses are formed of sufficient width to permit the section to pass over the heel portion of the shoe and the zigzag section automatically accommodates the shoetree to the size shoe with which it is employed.

In order to facilitate installation and removal of the shoetree a handle portion is defined at the heel portion terminating end of the tree which is of a hook configuration permitting the shoetrees to be suspended from this end.

In that the spacing of the elements of the zigzag section of the shoe tree is such as to permit accommodation of various size shoes in one-half shoe size variations the proper compressive forces may be maintained in the shoe, and by forming the shoe tree of wire the natural resiliency of the elongated wire member also maintains a uniform stretching force upon the shoe.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings which expand the inventive concept into modifications for permitting accommodation of both mens and womens shoe sizes in a single shoetree, permit the shoetree to be folded to a more concise configuration when not in use, and utilize the material of the elongated member to also form the shoe toe engaging member, as well as the hook handle portion.

Brief description of the drawing The aforementioned objects will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings where- FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a shoetree in accord with the invention, a shoe being shown in dotted lines,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the shoetree embodiment of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an elevational view illustrating a pair of shoes utilizing a shoetree in accord with the invention, and suspended from the hook portion thereof,

FIG. 4 is a detail view of the toe engaging member of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, illustrating the toe engaging member in the alternative position,

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another embodiment of shoetree in accord with the invention permitting folding of the tree,

FIG. 6 is a plan enlarged section taken along VI- VI of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of another embodiment of shoetree in accord with the invention,

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of another embodiment of shoetree in accord with the invention wherein the shoe toe engaging member is formed of the wire elongated member,

FIG. is a plan detail view of the toe engaging member of FIG. 9, and

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of a nonadjustable embodiment of the invention.

Description of the preferred embodiments FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate that embodiment of the invention which is considered to be preferred. In this embodiment the shoetree is basically formed of an elongated member 10 consisting of a material capable of resisting a compressive force sufficient to effectively stretch a shoe without excessive deformation. While the elongated member 10 could be formed of a plastic, for instance, and could be of a molded configuration, preferably, the elongated member is formed of steel wire which may be painted or brightly plated.

The member 10 includes a toe region 12, and a heel region 14. The toe engaging region terminates in an end 16 of the wire upon which the toe engaging member 18 is mounted. The member 18 may be of wood, plastic or the like, and preferably consists of a member having a rounded convex end 20, and a broad generally flattened end 22. Each of the ends of the member 18 are provided with a hole 24 into which the wire member end 16 may be selectively inserted. In this manner the member 18 may be mounted to effectively employ the rounded end, FIG. 2, as is used with womens shoes and pointed mens shoes, or the toe engaging member may be mounted upon the member 10 as shown in FIG. 4, wherein the broad end is in the effective operative position.

The heel region 14 of the elongated member 10 includes a zigzag section generally indicated at 26 consisting of a plurality of bends formed in the member to form the sinuous section. The section 26 consists of a plurality of substantially 180 bends 28 interconnecting elements 30 of the section. The bends 32 and 34 are generally of a right angle, and the longitudinal length of the elements 30 will be substantially uniform wherein the section 26 has a configuration as will be apparent from FIG. 1.

The bends 28 are of such a radius as to position the adjacent elements 30 such that the distance separating adjacent elements substantially corresponds to one-half of a unit shoe size. In this manner, merely by turning the shoetree over, the tree can be accommodated to conventional shoe sizes in a very accurate manner having an inerement of adjustment of one-half of a shoe size.

A handle or hook portion 36 is formed at the end of the elongated member depending from the adjacent bend 34. The hook 36 extends sufficiently beyond the section 26 as to permit the shoetree to be suspended from its associated hook, and also permit the hook to function as a handle when installing or removing the shoetree.

Use of a shoetree in accord with the invention is very simple. The shoe toe engaging member 18 is merely inserted into a shoe until the member engages the shoe toe. Thereupon, the plane of the section 26 is vertically oriented and the section 26 brought down into engagement with the shoe heel portion 38. As apparent in FIG. 1, the described embodiment shows three inverted U- shaped recesses 40 defined by the elements 30 and bends 28. Each of these recesses are spaced apart in the longitudinal length of the member by a unit shoe size. Should the shoe with which the tree is being used not be of a size readily accommodated by one of the downwardly disposed recesses 40, the shoetree is merely rotated 180", which automatically makes the recesses 40 of the previously upwardly facing sections vary from those previously disposed toward the shoe by one-half of the shoe size, and permits the shoetree section 26 to be inserted over the back of the heel. In the operative position a bend 28 and an element 30 will be engaging the inner lining of the heel, and heel. counter, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and the 4 hook 36 will be extending beyond the heel portion of the shoe.

With a pair of shoes having shoetrees in accord with the invention installed, the shoes may be hung from a hook, coat hanger or the like as shown in FIG. 3. One shoetree may be hooked upon another shoetree as to engage the bend 34 disposed adjacent the hooked handle 36. If desired, a half dozen shoes or more can be interconnected in the illustrated manner as to form a suspended group of shoes, and thereby maintain the shoes off the floor of the closet or other storage location.

The length of the member 10, and the location of the bends and the elements of the section 26 are so related that when the shoetree is properly oriented to the shoe size to be accommodated a compressive force will occur within the elongated member sufficient to maintain the desired shape of the shoe while being stored. The resilient nature of wire is conducive to this relationship, and for this reason wire is the preferred material for the elongated member, in addition to the ability of wire to be readily formed into the shape required.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the invention which may be folded to a concise size for storage and traveling purposes. In this embodiment the elongated member is formed in two sections, a linear section 42, and a second section 44 consisting of the zigzag section 46 and the hooked section 48. The sections 42 and 44 are interconnected by a nut and bolt pivot arrangement generally indicated at 50, and in this manner the section 44 may be disposed in the operative position shown in FIG. 5, or may be disposed in an adjacent side-by-side relationship if the section 44 is rotated relative to the illustrated condition.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of the invention which permits a single shoetree to accommodate either mens or womens shoe sizes, Without requiring an excessivelylong dimension of the sinuous section. In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 the elongated member 52 is formed of wire, and includes a first zigzag section 54 of bends and elements, and a second section 56 of zigzag bends and elements. The sections 54 and 56 are each planar in configuration, as with the embodiment of FIG. 1, and the planes of the sections are disposed at right angles to each other, which will be apparent in the drawing. Each end of the elongated member 52 is formed with a hooked portion 58 and 60 which are selectively used as hooks or toe engaging members upon which a vinyl or rubber hose or tube covering 62 is mounted. The plane of the hook portions 58 and 60 correspond to the plane of the adjacent zigzag section. In this manner the section 54 is used in conjunction with the toe engaging member 60, and the hooked portion 58 thereby becomes the hook and handle. If the section 56 is to be used, the hook 58 becomes the toe engaging member, and the hook portion 60 becomes the handle and hook from which the shoetree may be suspended.

The distance from the section 56 to the hook 58 is greater than the distance from the section 54 to the hook section 60, and in this manner the section 56 constitutes that section which is to be used with mens shoes, and the section 54 will be used with Womens and childrens shoes.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 1, except the toe engaging member 64 is integrally formed fromthe material of the elongated member 66. In this embodiment the elongated member 66 is formed into a somewhat triangular shaped portion at 64, FIG. 10, and a tube 68 of rubber or vinyl is slipped upon this shaped portion of the elongated member to protect the shoe with which the shoetree is employed.

FIG. 11 illustrates a basic embodiment of the inventive concept wherein no adjustment is available. In this embodiment the elongated member 70 includes a bend 72 defining a portion 74 transversely disposed to the length of the portion 76. Another bend 7 8 depends from the portion defining a hooked portion 80. The toe engaging member 80 consists of an elongated enlarged diameter member which may be of wood or plastic.

The embodiment of FIG. 11 is used merely by slipping the member 70 into the shoe, and passing the portion 74 into the shoe heel in engagement with the heel lining. Of course, with the embodiment of FIG. 11, the distance from the bend 72 to the end of the member 82 must be such as to accommodate the specified shoe size, and this embodiment of shoetree must be used with that shoe size for which it is particularly designed.

It will be appreciated that the aforedescribed embodiments provide a shoetree of simplified construction which may be readily used with a plurality of shoe sizes, may be economically manufactured and sold, and requires no unusual skills, or troublesome manipulations by the user.

It is appreciated that various modifications to the inventive concept may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and it is intended that the invention be defined only by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A shoetree formed of an elongated member comprising an elongated member having first and second end regions, a shoe toe engaging member defined at said first region of said member, a first bend defined in said member adjacent said second region defining a heel engaging portion transversely disposed to the length of said memher, a second bend defined in said member depending from said heel engaging portion defining a member portion generally parallel to the length of said member, and a hook shaped handle portion depending from said last mentioned member portion at said second end region.

2. A shoetree as in claim 1 wherein said elongated member comprises a wire and said handle comprises a hook defined in said wire defining said second end region.

3. A shoetree of a formed elongated member comprising, in combination, an elongated member having first and second end regions, a shoe toe engaging member defined at the terminus of said first end region, and a zigzag section formed in said member adjacent said second end region defined by a plurality of reversing bends interconnecting a plurality of heel engageable elements transversely disposed to the length of said member and spaced apart sufficiently to permit a resultant inverted U-shaped recess defined by a bend and the contiguous elements to be placed over the heel portion of a shoe.

4. In a shoetree as in claim 3 wherein said bends are approximately of 180.

5. In a shoetree as in claim 3 wherein adjacent elements are spaced apart in the general longitudinal direction of said member a distance substantially corresponding to the length difference of /2 of a unit shoe size.

6. A shoetree as in claim 3 wherein said elongated member comprises a wire.

7. A shoetree as in claim 3 wherein the terminus of said second end region comprises a hook from which said shoetree may be suspended.

8. In a shoetree as in claim 3 wherein said shoe toe engaging member includes first and second ends, said first end being of a generally convex configuration and said second end being of a generally broad configuration and elongated member mounting means defined at each end of said shoe toe engaging member for selectively mounting of said shoe toe engaging member upon said elongated member.

9. A shoetree as in claim 6 wherein said shoe toe engaging member is defined by the wire forming said elongated member.

10. In a shoetree as in claim 3, a pivot defined in said elongated member intermediate said first and second end regions permitting said end regions to be folded into a side-by-side relationship.

11. In a shoetree as in claim 3 wherein a zigzag section is defined in said elongated member adjacent each of said end regions, each section being substantially flat in configuration and the planes thereof being substantially perpendicularly disposed to each other, and a shoe toe engaging member defined at each terminus of said end regions, said sections being at different distances from its operative shoe end.

12. In a shoetree as in claim 11 wherein said elongated member is formed of wire and said shoe toe engaging members each comprise hook shaped portions disposed in a plane substantially parallel to that of the adjacent zigzag section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 941,947 11/1909 Redington 12114.2 2,449,861 9/ 1948 Renner l2115.6 2,872,692 2/1959 Moses 12115.8

FOREIGN PATENTS 600,085 1/1926 France.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

